


The Framing of a Braid

by Bablefishmouse



Series: The Attempted Righteous [2]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, Clone Wars, F/M, Leaving the Jedi Order, Padwan Braid, Sadness, canon AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-05
Updated: 2017-01-14
Packaged: 2018-09-15 00:37:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,044
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9212000
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bablefishmouse/pseuds/Bablefishmouse
Summary: Once knighted Anakin Skywalker gives his Padawan braid to the most important person in his life- his wife. Over a year later, after leaving the order, Obi-Wan Kenobi finds it.





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> Based on a headcanon from [phosphorescent-naidheachd](http://phosphorescent-naidheachd.tumblr.com/post/154916174306/likealeafonthewind-my-headcanon-re-the-padawan). The first chapter of this work can stand alone.

It was traditional to exchange gifts when one got married on Naboo. It was even still normal among the circles Padme and her family moved in. But Padme and Anakin’s marriage had never going to be normal. The closest they’d gotten to a present exchange was that Artoo was now living and working with Anakin, and Threepio with Padme. But they were hardly possessions.

The two of them didn’t even live together.

The war was everywhere, and it was eating up so much of both their time. It wasn’t that Padme regretted their marriage- she absolutely didn’t- but it was hard. She went weeks, sometimes months without talking to her husband. And she couldn’t talk to anyone. None of the very few people who knew about her marriage, that she could in theory in talk to, understood.

Every time he walked out of her life, everything sort of seemed to ping back into place, and the only one who could even tell there was an immense hole was her. She’d seen him barely a dozen times since Naboo, and never for longer than a day. It was the war.  

So when Anakin showed up at her apartment, braid no longer hanging in his hair, but instead in his hand, Padme couldn’t help but be surprised. Especially when he placed it in her open palm, out on the terrace where she’d rushed out to greet him. He gently closed her fingers around it, then brought her closed palm up towards his mouth, never looking away from her eyes.

First he kissed her fingers, lips lingering just a moment longer than they had to. Then he pressed his lips to her wrist. The fabric tickled.

Anakin’s nose twitched.

Padme brought down her hand with a slight laugh, as she reached out and grabbed his other hand, leading Anakin inside.

He sat down on one of the sofas. Padme looked at him, then back at the braid she was still holding. “Well,” She smiled, “I’m guessing you were knighted?”

He’d said he was leaving when he was knighted. But then he’d said he wasn’t leaving until after the war.

 “It’s for you.” Anakin said, grinning as widely as he ever had.

“Are you-“ Padme started to ask. Was he sure? Was he home for good? Was this endless background nag of a worry finally going to let up?

“I’m sure.” Anakin stood up. “It’s for you.”

“I-“ Padme swallowed her hesitations, and brief disappointment, and instead said softly: “Thank-you.”

The braid was soft and thin, the beads within shimmering slightly in the light. It seemed so much less like hair once it was severed. Almost delicate, and certainly precious, Padme almost didn’t like to keep holding it. 

“So what traditionally happens with this?” She asked.

“Traditionally I’d keep it, or give it to my Master.” Anakin said, not looking in the least bit worried about the clear break from the usual. Well, he wouldn’t.

“Well then,” Padme sat down on the sofa by his side, and put the braid on the coffee table in front of them. “How long have I got you for?”

“Forever.” Anakin replied simply, then, catching her look, added. “I ship out in three days.” 

“Three days huh?”

Anakin leant in and kissed her gently. “Love you.”

“I love you too.” Padme said, leaning forward so her head rested on his shoulder. She let out a deep breath. “Oh, it’s good you’re home.”

“I missed you too Angel,” Anakin kissed the crown of her head. “I missed you too.”

No noise could be heard except their breathing. The soft huff that Padme made against his robes, the small sighs as Anakin finally relaxed. Eventually he asked “How are you doing? Is the senate as bad as usual?”

Padme looked up and gave a little laugh. “Oh, you have no idea. Worse. I didn’t think they could get worse. Sometimes it seems like it’s me and Bail against the rest of them.”

“Yeah?”

“Yes.” Padme sighed. “It’s not of course, we have our allies, even our friends. But with this climate- there’s only so much we can do.”

Anakin honestly didn’t understand politics. He should do. He was married to the best senator of the lot, and was personal friends with the Chancellor, but he honestly, honestly had not got the faintest clue about what the point of half the posturing was about. “Do you want some tea?”

Padme thought about it for a moment. “That would be lovely. I should finish these reports really, but I can probably put them off for a day or so- “

“Finish them.” Anakin told her. “I’ll give Threepio a tune up if he wants one.”

“Are you sure?” Padme really, really needed to finish these reports. But it was much more important to spent time with her husband right now. He was home.  

“I’m sure.” Anakin squeezed her hand for a moment, then got up and headed to the kitchen.

Leaving Padme staring at the Braid.

She smiled.

She was no less happy the next morning, trapped in bed, her husband’s arms wrapped around her stomach. He wasn’t home for long.  Three days. Three stupid small days. But for now, at least for those few measly days, he was indeed home.

What was she going to do with the braid though? It was- Padme was utterly lost by it. It was a part of him. In a way it represented so many years of memory, so many years of life that she hadn’t been a part of. But in a way- 

It was another four days before Padme had an idea. It seemed even lonelier than usual with Anakin there so long- and it had felt normal. But now? Now the Senate was up to its usually trick of burying them all in too much work for them to get anything done.  The sessions were even worse than usual, and still debating the terms of the same points on the same traffic laws.

The Anakin’s severed braid had hence been the subject of some thought. She didn’t really want to keep it in the box it was currently in. It was hardly like every time someone saw a braid they immediately jumped to Padawan Braid, but at the same time- She didn’t want to leave it lying around.

She wanted to celebrate it.

She wanted to put it in a box, frame it, to point it out to everyone who came into her apartment and say: “Look, my husband gave me this, isn’t he wonderful. He’s out there saving all your useless selves right now”.

But it’s hardly like she could frame a braid. Not without then hiding it anyway. Not without a lot of questions being asked. Not on its own anyway.

Not on its own.

It took Padme a long time to track down an artist of the right style and quality who wouldn’t ask the important question. She had to trust them. The Braid was irreplaceable, and if this went badly, she couldn’t undo it.

But eventually she found one. An up and coming Kriffar who specialised in dyed rope work, and had just moved to Coruscant. Born, fortunately for secrecy, with very limited psychometric abilities.

Two weeks later Padme received the finished work.

It was a lovely, if unconventional piece. The braid itself was not dyed, but was coiled around thinner bits of beaded rope in the centre, as the strings got thinner and thinner until the border. The colours of the original beads had been echoed in the rest of the work, and, as Padme asked Threepio to hang it in prime place in the living room, she finally had something to look at, and smile.

No-one would know. But she would. Anakin would. And that would be more than enough.

She smiled, sitting down and gazing at it for a while, it was more than enough. It would have to be.

Over the next few months Padme glowed each time the piece was complemented. The artist she’d hired had gone on to become a real hit in society circles, and to have one of her early works was considered a real coup. She couldn’t help but be appreciative of the way it made the piece’s position completely normal.

It was beautifully safe. The politicians, and the society beings came in and out all the time. But the Jedi? If Padme was completely honest, she didn’t expect to see another Jedi in her home other than Anakin for the rest of her life. And if it became necessary? If her life was threatened? It was hardly like she wouldn’t have a warning. She would be able to move the piece.

And in the meantime, she had a reminder. She had their relationship. She didn’t need to shout it to the world. And so Padme smiled, sitting alone on her couch, drink in hand, looking at the one reminder she had of her relationship. The one, single reminder.

It was worth it.

As long as Anakin survived, as long as he came back, it was worth it.


	2. Chapter Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The day after leaving the Jedi Order, Obi-Wan makes an unwelcome, and more surprising than it should have been, discovery.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This takes place immediately after Righteous, but you can read it without, just knowing that at the end of the Wrong Jedi, Anakin and Obi-Wan followed Ahsoka right out of the Order.

In the early hours of the morning, Obi-Wan found himself staring at the bedroom ceiling. Had it been twelve hours yet? Probably not. Not even half a day since he’d walked out on the Jedi Order. Since they all had.

He wondered if the others were awake.

The bad holodrams had helped for a bit. Well, the company had. Obi-Wan corrected himself. The less thought about the programs themselves the better.

But then Ahsoka had shown distinct signs of sleepiness, and had, heavily encouraged, gone to bed. Then Anakin and Padme had too. So Obi-Wan had left, and thought he’d try and get some sleep.

At least the others were happy. Or relieved? It wasn’t that he wasn’t- or rather, it wasn’t that he regretted it. But Ahsoka was so thankful to be, in her words, free. And Anakin-

Anakin was safe asleep in the arms of his wife.

It wasn’t that Obi-Wan hadn’t known they were a thing. That had been, really, really, reeaally obvious. But there was a difference between a thing, and being married. It was just-

Anakin had always been planning on leaving the Order.

He’d planned on seeing the war through, at least from what Obi-Wan had managed to gather. Anakin would probably have stayed to see Ahsoka knighted, and then he’d have left.

It didn’t matter. The Order he’d once been so proud to be a part of was no more.

It shouldn’t matter.

Obi-Wan sighed, checked the time, and finally got out of bed, reaching automatically for his Jedi robes. His hand stopped. Next to his familiar robes was a simple black outfit, similar to something Bail Organa might wear, but plainer. Obi-Wan picked it up.

A few minutes later he wondered out into the living room.

“Good Morning Mas-“ Ahsoka greeted him, stopping short. “Mr Kenobi?”

“Obi-Wan,” he corrected gently, “And good morning to you too. Have you seen-?”

“mnn” Anakin grumbled as he appeared, otherwise ignoring both of them to disappear straight into the kitchen.

Ahsoka and Obi-Wan exchanged a knowing glance.

A moment later, Padme appeared in the same doorway, seemingly already dressed for the day. “How did you sleep?”

“Perfectly well, thank-you.” Obi-Wan smiled politely at her. “And you?”

“Better than you.”  Padme told him, frowning slightly at his blatant lie. “Ahsoka?”

“Fine.” She shrugged. “No second thoughts. Wondering what’s going to happen now, but no second thoughts.” Ahsoka glanced at Anakin who had just returned from the kitchen, a large steaming mug in his hands. He walked over to Padme and pressed a kiss to her forehead, before leaning by the doorway, inhaling the steam.

Padme smiled indulgently at him.  “Don’t suppose you got me one?”

Anakin frowned. “You’ve already been up an hour.”

Padme looked at him again. He took a large gulp from his mug, then offered it to Padme. She declined. “Its fine, I’ll make my own.” She sighed. “Anyone else want anything?”

“Tea please,” Obi-Wan asked, “If it’s not too much trouble.”

Ahsoka’s eyes flitted to Anakin for a moment, before realising. “Caff, about as milky as you can bare to make it, please. Do you want a hand?”

“Thank-you,” Padme accepted the offer.

“I can-“

“No Obi-Wan.” She looked at the man who she doubted had gotten more than three hours sleep the previous night. “We can manage.” She knew he wasn’t going to drop the mugs, but at the same time, she didn’t want to give him the opportunity to drop the mugs.

Once it was just the two of them, Anakin plopped down in the chair opposite Obi-Wan draining the last of his caff. “Any regrets?”

“Huh?” Obi-Wan said, “No, not about leaving.” Questions, yes, but no regrets. “Do you wish you’d left earlier?”

Anakin shrugged, then he pushed his mug out of the way. “What are we going to do now?”

“I honestly have no idea.” Obi-Wan sighed. “This was hardly planned on my part.”

“I didn’t-“ Anakin gave up any attempt at articulation, instead picking up his empty mug and going into the kitchen, leaving the question unanswered, and Obi-Wan alone in the room.

He got up, and wandered around the room. This wasn’t the first time he’d been inside Padme’s apartment, but it was the first for quite a while. Since Anakin had been knighted, Obi-Wan realised, possibly even since the war began.

He tucked his chair in before wandering over to look at the artwork. A, new, textured piece, notably placed, caught his attention first.

While he’d seen similar elsewhere, the artwork still seemed a little, odd, with the central plait so much bulkier than the others. It might have been an early work by the same artist, while they had still been developing their distinctive style.

He approached for a better look.

That was odd. The central plait was beaded, and almost looked undyed. It was-

Recognition shot through him.

Oh. OH.

Oh….

Anakin really had always been going to leave the order hadn’t he?

Oh Force. He’d always thought Anakin had kept it. Just put it in a box somewhere, or maybe even thrown it out, not getting- Oh Force. It was so obvious and yet-

He had to admire the skill in the display.

Such a nice little piece, here it is, here’s who actually means anything to me, it doesn’t matter if you notice-

No-one would. Obi-Wan rubbed his eyes. He nearly didn’t. It was just -

 It wasn’t nice to think he meant so little. He knew he hadn’t been a good teacher. Qui-Gon would have done a much better job and maybe, just maybe- Oh it didn’t matter. It really didn’t matter. Obi-Wan should get out of there as quickly as possible. Sure he’d always thought of Padme as a friend, and he had thought that she’d returned the sentiment. But if Anakin felt like-

Surely they must both-

He should leave. It was clear he was a burden here, and an unwanted one. It was a shame about the clothes but he could always return them later. He turned around and started to stride towards his- no, the room he’d stayed in last night.

Padme, caught his arm,“Are you alright?”

Obi-Wan took a deep breath. “I’m fine, thank-you.” Relax, he told himself. “Thank-you so much for putting me up last night, but I was thinking, I should-“

“Come into the Senate with me today.” Padme interrupted him, putting a mug of tea in his hands.

“I’m sorry?” Obi-Wan looked down at the mug.

“You should come into the Senate with me today, as my guest.” Padme repeated, “Help you get the lay of the land, and help me be a little less bored. I think Anakin’s planning on spending the whole day upgrading Threepio’s language capacity, and Ahsoka’s helping him, so you really wouldn’t be missing out on anything here.”

“I-“

“Obi-Wan.”

He sighed. “You know I don’t like politics, or politicians in general. Present company excluded.”

“Bail will be there.”

“I believe I said in general.”

Padme looked at him.

Obi-Wan sighed again. The scent of tea drifted upwards from the warm mug. One last day. He could afford to pretend for one last day of seeming friendship. “I would be honoured.” He took a sip from the mug, considered it for a moment, and downed half of it. “What should I wear?”

“Just what you’re wearing in this case, but you’re going to have to let me at your hair.  And get a quick breakfast. I’m due in session in an hour, so we need to leave in ten.”

Obi-Wan let himself be led to the table, where Anakin plonked a breakfast that looked very little better than ration bars in front of him, and then passed Padme a very large comb, and a large bottle. “That was what you wanted, right angel?”

“Right.” Padme kissed her husband briefly before getting to work on attacking Obi-Wan’s hair. In the time it took him to eat the slightly better tasting than it looked breakfast, she had managed to make his hair look- Well.

Obi-Wan could tell the difference when shown in the mirror, but partly only because she’d parted it in the other direction. It looked bigger too. He put down the mirror with a polite smile. “Should we?”

“We absolutely should be going.” Padme said, “ANAKIN, AHSOKA, WE’RE GOING!”

“SEE YOU LATER!” Ahsoka yelled as Anakin rushed out, already grease stained, to give his wife a kiss.

“See you later angel.”

“See you later,” Padme told him. “Please put Threepio back in one piece once you’re done the upgrade.”

Anakin rolled his eyes. “Who built him in the first place? Go kick some Senate butt.”

“As I always do, love you, see you later.” Padme said.

“Love you too.” Anakin smiled at her. Then turned and said: “Goodbye Obi-Wan, see you later?”

“Goodbye Anakin.” Obi-Wan said.

He’d leave later. It was worth delaying to see Bail one last time, have one last day here on Coruscant. He’d leave later. After all, he thought, glancing at the artwork on his way out the door, it was clearly what everyone wanted.

Clearly, what everyone (else) wanted.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank-you for reading! Many Thanks to [Phosphorescent-naidheachd](http://phosphorescent-naidheachd.tumblr.com/post/154916174306/likealeafonthewind-my-headcanon-re-the-padawan) for the headcannon this is based on again. Please, leave a comment let me know what you thought. More in this series is to come, but has to fit around awkward things like, you know, life.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank-you for reading! Please, leave a comment, let me know what you thought! The next chapter will be up next week!


End file.
